Lucubrate
by Adventurer411
Summary: "-To work, write, or study laboriously, especially at night" Prompt for Jerlita week on Deviantart: Jeremy's having a little trouble remembering his worth in the materialization program, until he has a talk with a certain pink haired girl.


"Not again!"

Jeremy slammed his fist down on the desk for the fourth time that evening as the symbol he had come to know and hate flashed on the screen: the dreaded red exclamation mark.

The day had started so well, but had only dwindled down to gloomy: He had actually gone to breakfast this time, and had worked straight through gym. He had an enjoyable conversation with Aelita, in which he explained the concept and points of food. The materialization program had been launched, and launched, and had failed. Jeremy's hope disappeared slowly, along with the sunlight as night fell. It was 11:36pm; lights out had been hours ago. Right now, the only sound in Jeremy's room was the click-click of keys, the soft humming of the computer, and his light breathing. The computer screen illuminated his face, bits of code reflected in his glasses.

"I'll never get her materialization right," the young genius muttered bitterly under his breath. Pushing the keyboard up slightly, he buried his head in his arms on the edge of the desk. Some days, he was determined and was sure he could complete the program, but some days he felt doubt, wanting to give up; he just wasn't good enough… This was one of those days.

"Is there something wrong, Jeremy?"

It was like a sweet melody as Aelita's concerned voice drifted through the headset. Looking up, he saw the elf's worried face peering at him from her usual window. It was simply her nature to be concerned about him. She often was, in more ways than one.

"No…"

Aelita wasn't buying it.

"Jeremy, please. I know that something is wrong… Remember, if you have a problem, you can talk to _always _talk to me about it," the pinkette encouraged.

Jeremy sighed. He wanted nothing more than to just vent. He wanted to vent about the materialization, about feeling useless… But he didn't want her to be burdened with his own problems. The blond knew that she wouldn't mind, but, nonetheless: they were his problems, not hers.

"Aelita, I just… I just don't know if I can do it." By now, they both knew what that meant.

"Don't get upset because you can't finish the program, Jeremy. It's probably going to take more than a week. I know, it's very complicated, but I also know that you can do it." Aelita smiled supportively. "Besides, a few nights won't make a difference."

"Well, it does, to me."

"Jeremy, relax. Why don't you sleep and continue tomorrow?"

"I can't sleep yet; there's so much work to be done!" Jeremy exclaimed as he rested his forehead in his palms, as if the prospect of sleeping was an incredulous one. He sighed.

"What… what if I can't do it?" the blond asked suddenly.

Aelita opened her mouth to answer, but Jeremy continued.

"What if I'm not smart enough?"

Once again, Aelita was cut off as she tried to answer.

"What if… What if I'm way in over my head?" he asked, tone very quiet. There was such despair in his voice that she hadn't heard from him before; Aelita could not stand it.

"Jeremy Belpois, you listen to me!" she commanded. Sweet hadn't worked, so now the pinkette forced herself to be stern. However much she hated doing it, Jeremy's health came first, and he was working himself half dead.

Jeremy looked up in surprise at not just the tone of her voice, but also the use of his surname, which she didn't often do.

"Listen," she said once again. "This is complicated, but I know you can do it."

Her voice was so strict, so sure, so full of confidence, Jeremy's mind was basically forced to believe it.

"Now's not the time to work on it, though; you need your sleep. You can continue tomorrow, but not tonight. You are going to save your work, I'm going to wish you goodnight, you're going to shut off the computer, and go to bed. This means now, Jeremy, not in twenty minutes, nor ten, nor five. Understand?" Aelita finished, almost as if drilling a student on his or her instruction.

"Understand?" she asked in the same tone, albeit softer as he didn't respond.

Unable to do much more, Jeremy bobbed his head numbly, feeling more reassured then ever.

"Good," she said. Expression softening, Aelita smiled in satisfaction. "Goodnight, Jeremy."

"Good… Good night, Aelita," Jeremy responded finally, smiling back.

With that, her window disappeared from the screen.

Jeremy had the small thought to keep working, but quickly pushed it away. There were three reasons he couldn't or wouldn't do it for. Firstly, working would probably just lead to more frustration, which was what he didn't want right now. Second, he had promised Aelita, and couldn't break it, even if he wanted to. Third, the blond was just plain sleepy.

A small smile on his face, Jeremy happily shut the monitor off and climbed into bed, removing his glasses.

It wasn't even a full thirty seconds before the boy drifted into a dreamless slumber, sleeping better than he had in days.


End file.
